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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "money gram" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "mtcn" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mark Ubadi (ATM CARD DELIVERY EXPERT)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <diplomatmarkubadi@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2015 13:42:05 +0800
Subject: Re: Delivery Day: Friday The 3rd of April 2015..
We do not want anymore delay with the conclusion of your long awaited ATM CARD and as such We've concluded that your package be handed to you personally on FRIDAY.
I am pleased to inform you that your Government have finally given me approval to deliver your ATM to you totaling US$10.5Million after a long delay.
This approval came after thorough investigations and verification by these agency which led to the conclusion that the Funds are clean and have no links with any illegality.
Due to the series of delays that have marred the delivery of the ATM to you in the past, we have been instructed to bind the package with Inheritance Release Tag before the ATM is delivered to you.
The Inheritance Release Tag will ensure that no one hinders or stops the delivery of the ATM and there is no way the funds can be delivered without the Tag.
As the beneficiary of the package, you have to pay for the aforementioned Tag and the cost of the Seal is $44.90 only.
This fee can not be deducted and it can not be paid on COD either.
Make the payment of $44.90 by Western Union or Money Gram with the details below''
RECEIVERS NAME: UFOMA JAMES
ADDRESS: 21 JOHNSON STREET, LAGOS NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: DELIVERY DAY?
ANSWER: FRIDAY
AFTER MAKING THE PAYMENT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED FOR CONFIRMATION OF PAYMENT:
1, MTCN
2, SENDER NAME AND ADDRESS
3, PAYOUT AMOUNT AS STATED IN THE PAYMENT RECEIPT
YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.
THANK YOU
MARK UBADI
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Anti-fraud resources:
